Build a Home
by Beiowulf
Summary: He hides scars under a cheerful demeanor. She hides scars under layers of clothing. They are entirely different, yet exactly the same. How will a class project bring them together?
1. Chapter 1: Setting

**Author's note:** This is my first fanfiction, and I actually think it's pretty good. Don't be deterred by the M rating; it's really just the characters backstories and some language that call for it. If you think about it, Fruits Basket would be rated M on this first few chapters might be kind of slow, but it will speed up.

Enjoy!

* * *

**Prologue**

The crowd pushes on him incessantly as he struggles forward towards the departing subway car; the little boy with dark blue hair. The lights are flashing and he knows the car will leave soon. Fear of being left behind propels him further and further forward, as fast as he can. But it is not fast enough, the train pulls away from the station right as he nears it, and he is left screaming at the empty tracks. The people surrounding him shush him, not understanding the situation.

As he watches the subway ride farther and farther away, a deep fear growing stronger in his stomach every second, a thousand thoughts flash through his mind.

_ Now I'm alone._

_I don't know how to get home._

_ Do they know I was left behind?_

Breathing deep four year old breaths, he tries to calm himself, and remind himself what he was always told to do if he got lost.

_Go find a police officer. Or a nice lady with children. Don't talk to anyone else._

Regaining some iota of composition, he begins to turn away, searching for a blue uniform.

He sees one, running towards the tracks, right after he hears a loud explosion and feels a wave of heat behind him. Down the tunnel, the subway train is in flames.

"_Did you see that?"_

_"What happened?"_

_ "I think it collided with another one!"_

_"Now I'm definitely going to be late."_

_"We have to get out of here!"_

He's deaf to the comments though. All of his attention is focused on the blazing ball of twisted metal just barely visible down the metro tracks.

_Mom. Dad._

* * *

A bag is dropped at her feet.

"Get out."

She stares up in numb shock at her mother's eyes. As usual, they are calculating, deciding what actions would produce the best results. A businesslike, cold, computing mind, with no room for emotions. No room for mistakes. Not like her.

"You've disgraced me to the point of no redemption. Get out. I won't have you around anymore." Her lips are pulled up in a snarl. The girl knows that nothing she says would change her mind; her mother has no heartstrings to pull on. It is most reasonable to cut the girl out. Therefore, that is what she will do.

Seeing her still standing there, the mother take an angry step forward. "Get out! Take your crappy HSA scores and cigarettes too! _Get out you little whore! _

Suddenly, a fire spreads throughout the girl's body. She grabs the bag, not really caring what's in it, and runs out the door, leaving her mother's critical remarks about her less than perfect track record behind her.

Running and running, there seems like no reason she should ever stop. The sky is a monochrome grey, painting the world in mute colors. Her breath comes faster and faster, her muscles ache, but she keeps going, certain that she needs to get somewhere, but without an idea of where that somewhere is. Whipping her head up, she's surprised by the sight of a white haired boy jogging towards her. She slows down and he speeds to meet her.

"What the heck are you doing running around like this?" He asks. She tries to pant out an answer, but only winds up choking on her own breath. Raising an eyebrow, he reaches out and steadies her, holding her hands in his own.

Looking up into mismatched blue and green eyes, the girl feels something inside her. A feeling? A reaction? Spitting words out between gasps, she manages to say " She…Kicked me out…"

He blows out a puff of air and pulls her into him with one arm, holding tightly around her waist. "I guess that was gonna happen sooner or later." he speaks nonchalantly, as if trying to blow the memory away by making it seem minor. "Just stay with me, huh?" She feels the numbness pile back onto her, followed by a hesitant bit of calm. Remembering that she had them, she pulls out the cigarettes she had been holding onto for him and hands one upwards. Watching him stand there with her, blowing out smoke as if all his troubles would go with it, and then leaning down and kissing her fervently with lips tasting of ash, she thinks.

_Is this where I was trying to get to?_

* * *

**Chapter One: Setting**

The boy strolls into the classroom just as the bell rings. Setting his books down he gazes around the spacious teaching space which is different room his class's usual room. For some reason, a sign directed the class here today.

He is in one of the many buildings of Arden University for Arts and Sciences, a college specializing in a remarkable number of fields. Rocket engineers and sculptors alike earned degrees here, and anyone who exited the school was bound to be one of the best and brightest in their chosen career. In fact, Arden University was well-renounced as a mass producer of useful and prosperous young people.

A pile of books is plopped down next to him and a familiar pink-haired girl takes the corresponding seat. "Good Morning Kaito" she exhales.

"Morning Luka. Any idea why we're in here?" They were only a month into their 3rd school year, giving the schedule and placement of their classes the possibility to be sporadic, but all the same, they had only ever met in their designated room. The girl shakes her head.

"No clue. Hope it's not something big." She lends her elbows on the table and puts her head in her hands. "I am so not in the mood."

Kaito chuckles. "When are you ever?" Giving him a glare, she pulls out an MP3 player, popping the earphones in and deciding to ignore him until the class starts. Disregarding her obvious antisocial behavior, he leans forward and surveys her choice of music. "Ah, our old childhood friend" he murmurs after observing the face on the album of the song. Her face turns red. "I should have known you'd be listening to Gakupo."

"The album was on sale! He's just popular-" Luckily, she is saved from justifying her actions by two professors striding in and calling everyone to attention. Luka quickly pulls out her earphones and sticks the music device back into her bag.

"Good morning classes" Luka and Kaito's teacher starts. Surprised by the plural, Kaito glances around and notices that indeed, there seems to be another class mingling with his own. "As you may have noticed, we are not in our usual place today." Murmurs circulate around the room at this obvious statement. "We needed a room with enough space to hold two classes, because as of now we will be working on a partner project."

Conversations begin to buzz as to what the project could entail, some friends calling out to each other across the room, claiming each other as partners. Before the classes erupted in utter chaos however, the other teacher claps and speaks up. "Don't get ahead of yourselves; we already have you all divided out. Besides, you don't even know what the project is yet." Curses and utters of disappointment flow openly out of mouths and students seat themselves again. All the while, next to Kaito, Luka's face has reached the tabletop out of sheer gloom that her hunch had been correct, and that they were about to get a ton of work dumped on them.

"The two classes here today are the advanced architecture class and the graphics design class. You will be in groups of two, one person from each class." Kaito sighed. So there wasn't even the chance he was going to be with Luka or any of his other classmates then. He'd probably be paired up with a total stranger. "We want you two to work together and design a house. The specifications are on the sheet we will hand out to you soon, but other than that use your complete imagination. The blueprint should be planned out by the architect, and the digital artist should design a 3-D model of the house on the computer." The professor picked up a sheet of paper and began assigning partners.

Kaito sat there rather dully as one by one people stood and glanced over to be acquainted with their coworker. Luka gave a slight grimace when she was assigned to a kid who looked like he knew absolutely what he was supposed to be doing, meaning, a nerd. Kaito just smiled and wished her the best of luck.

"Kaito Shion." He stands up. The professor notes his position and reads the name listed next to his. "Miku Hatsune." A quiet scraping sound comes from behind Kaito and he glances over his shoulder at the small girl getting up from her chair.

A pale and tiny thing she looked, with teal twin pigtails that fell down to her mid-back. Wide blue eyes that held traces of disquiet were shadowed by light grey circles which seemed to be further enhanced by the studio lighting. Although it was only October, she was dressed as if preparing for an Artic storm, with clothes covering practically every inch of skin below her neckline except for her fingers.

So perhaps they weren't total strangers – they'd been in a few math and English classes together – but all the same, they weren't exactly familiar with one another. Kaito smiled friendlily at her, trying to ease the tension that suddenly seemed to gather between them, and she raised one hand slightly in a half-hearted wave before sitting down again. He quickly followed suit.

The teachers went on for a little longer about the assignment before turning them loose for the last few minutes to begin discussing things with their partners. Turning around, Kaito noticed that Miku had not moved. She was still sitting there quietly, looking over the handout. Deciding to take the lead Kaito walked over and leaned one hand on the table. "Hello, Miku right?"

The girl jumped a little and slowly turned her head up, nodding. He continued "I'm Kaito. I think we had a few classes together last year, am I right?"

A nod again. "Yes, I remember." Her words are so soft that he can barely hear her. To better promote conversation, he sits down on his knees, now at about eye level with the seated girl, who tenses up almost unnoticeably every time he moves. They are silent for a moment.

"So, I make a plan and you bring it to life?" He questions.

"…I suppose that would be a way to put it."

Somehow Kaito is beginning to sense that the girl is not a dialogue master. "Do you have any kind of house in mind?"

"Two story, and not square." She surprises him with a quick answer, although her voice is even quieter than before. "Windows."

"Two stories, irregular, and lots of windows?" Kaito repeats, a little confused on how she pulled that image out of her head so clearly. She gives another small nod again and the bell rings. "Alright," he says, standing. "I'll see what I can do."

A girl with goggles pulled over her forehead bounces over to Miku and chirps that it's time to go. Kaito seems to remember her name as Gumi Megapoid; also a graphic designer. She must be a friend of Miku's.

"I'll show you what I have in a few days," I call after her as she leaves "at lunch." The nod which seems to be her default for every response is used again and she strides out the door, blue-green twin-tails flowing slightly behind her.


	2. Chapter 2: Meeting

Chapter Two: Meeting

The TV's light flickers on the girl as she comes through the door, trying to close it as quietly as possible. Despite her efforts, the rusty hinges give a crack and squeak and she knows her homecoming has been noticed.

"You're late again."

"I'm sorry." She holds up a hand filled with bags. "I had to go buy groceries." The hand is stared at. Shaking, shivering.

"I hope you didn't waste all my money again." A growling voice. She lowers her hand and stares at the ground.

"No, I only bought what we needed. I only ever do."

A disbelieving huff, followed by a turn back to the TV set. "Well go put them away. And I'm hungry." She stands there for a moment, the electronics' light still shining on her - It has no light source to rival it; there are no windows or lamps – before quietly walking into the small kitchen.

* * *

Kaito's pencil scrapes across the paper. A house is beginning to take form on the parchment in front of him; a large two story colonial, with a high sloping roof and a smaller wing branching of from its side. An atrium window adorns the front of the building, positioned above the roof of a wraparound porch.

There are some odd angles and placements in the drawing so far, but Kaito doesn't care. This is merely a preliminary sketch. He hasn't done any math or calculations yet to decide _how_ to build this structure. Right now, he is only deciding what it will look like.

Kaito had woken early in the morning, before his alarm went off. He found that he was not tired then and wouldn't go back to sleep, so he got up, determining to continue working on the concept of the house assignment. It had been three days since the project started, and the sketch was nearly finished. He planned on showing the result to Miku and getting her opinion.

Glancing at the clock, Kaito realized he had lost track of time and is now ten minutes late. He stuffs the sketches into his bag and grabs a few slices of bread and a banana before dashing out the door of his house. Luckily the university is only a few miles from his place and he is able to walk the distance most days. However since today he is behind schedule, he hails a taxi at the main and reclines into the back seat.

It is one of those breezy fall days, with a clear cold sky and leaves tinged with red. As he rides through the streets, chatting casually with the cab driver, he looks over his designs, erasing any stray marks and darkening important lines.

Upon reaching the school, he pays the driver and begins walking towards the front entrance. Checks his watch. Right on time. Starting up the first stair leading up to the door, he hears a slight pattering sound coming up behind him and he whirls around, only to be tackled by a mass of blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes.

"Kaito!" the younger girl shrieks, hugging him tightly. Behind her a similarly looking boy strides calmly forward with an expression of mild distaste directed at the girl.

"Hey Rin, Len." He greets, patting the girl on the head and smiling at the boy. "Back from tour, huh?"

"Yup" They both speak simultaneously, in almost identical voices. Kaito shakes his head good-naturedly at their closeness. Rin and Len were better known as 'The Kagamine Twins', and with good reason. Somehow, although they were not related by blood in any way, they shared the same last name and just about everything else about them. Their semblance was uncanny.

As if that quality was not unusual enough, they had also skipped four grades and wound up in college studying synchronized dancing and singing at age 15. Now 16, they were extremely popular in the music world with five albums and frequent performances and tours.

Len stepped forward and began to pry his 'sister' off of Kaito's shirt. "Come on Rin," he grumbled in his serious manner, the only thing the two didn't seem to have in common. "We'll be late on our first day back."

Kaito chuckled sheepishly. "Yeah, and besides, this is a little awkward. You do realize you're five years younger than me?" She pouted and released him.

"I don't care! I love you!"

"Yeah, right" Kaito and Len both said as they walked inside.

* * *

Classes passed by quickly, and before long it was lunchtime. In the cafeteria Kaito sat with Luka, his cousin Meiko – who was attending the school for acting classes, and often the Kagamines. Rin and Len were not with them today however - they were too busy being swamped with classmates and teachers asking for autographs and how the tour went – and the three were alone, Luka and Meiko chowing down on homemade lunches, Kaito braving the cafeteria food.

Glancing around the bistro, Kaito searches through people for an unobtrusive teal haired girl. Fruitlessly watching, his eyes eventually land on Gumi, but looking around her, Miku is nowhere in sight.

"Excuse me for second ladies," he interrupts the girl's conversation "I've got to go talk to someone."

Luka glances at him, "The one with…Miku was it? You seem to be really interested in that."

Kaito halted. She's right; he was very interested in this assignment. It's wasn't as if he didn't try hard on all of his other projects; he did. However, this was different. Although not sure why, this home building project truly captivated his attention.

He stands and walks over to the green haired girls table, waving at her. She picks her face up and knits her eyebrows.

"You're…Kaito Shion!" She claps excitedly on her remembrance of his name as if it is some kind of huge achievement. "You were in that stuff-building class, right?"

He grimaces inwardly at her rather crude description. "Uh, yeah. Miku Hatsune is my partner. I saw you talking to her yesterday."

"Oh yes!" Gumi bursts exuberantly in what seems to be her usual manner. "She sits next to me. I know her!"

"Do you know where she is? I need to talk to her." The girl purses her lips and gives that a thought.

"She doesn't usually come in here, except for sometimes when I invite her. She says it's too loud." Gumi shrugs. "I think I she headed towards the courtyards? Maybe?" Kaito thanked her and headed off, leaving his inedible meal behind him.

The hallways are mostly deserted, the majority of the campus out for lunch. The sunlight barely slants through the windows since the sun is so high in the sky as Kaito peers out them, scanning each of the three courtyards in this building for the girl. It takes intense hide-and-seek, but eventually he catches sight of someone in the second garden seated on a bench in the shade.

Her sense of her surroundings is so keen that as he soundlessly opens the glass door leading outside and takes a step, her head turns and she looks right at him, gaze very intent. Instead of feeling unnerved by the unusual stare, he is struck with a sudden spell of sadness. Everything about this girl radiates anxiety, the longer he is around her the more of it he noticed. There simply was something wrong with that gaze.

"Hey, it's just me Miku." He calls reassuringly, holding up the papers with one hand and striding over. "I finished the concept sketch." Reaching her sitting area he holds the documents out to her and she takes them with one gloved hand. Her clothing is even more conservative than before if possible, for now a turtleneck hides her throat and thin gloves mask her hands.

"I tried to put in the features you wanted, but if you think anything should be changed just tell me." She flips through the sheets, examining all the different angles of view. No expression reveals itself on her face, except that occasionally she would open her mouth so marginally that if one was not looking for a response they would not notice it.

"These are amazing." she finally states in that discreet voice of hers. Kaito reels back slightly, glancing at his drawings to check that he didn't give her someone else's.

"Really? I just threw this down on the page."

"They really are." The slightest of shy smiles buds on her face for a second and she flips back to the main picture, the one of the front. She stares at it, obviously not willing to say any more.

"I don't have any measurements picked or anything." Kaito explains, trying to fill the uncomfortable empty space. "I thought I should probably consult you on how you think it should be." Miku thinks for a moment, fingers tracing the air above the lines on the paper as to not smudge the graphite. As she slowly opens her mouth to speak, the bell rings, signaling the end of lunch. Her mouth snaps shut; the noise had sent her backtracking what little bit she had crawled out of her shell.

"Why don't we meet up after class for a little while?" Kaito suggests, surprisingly irritated at the chime. "We can work on it without any interruptions." He holds out a hand and after a moment she hands the papers back to him.

"Where?"

"Is the campus library alright?" It seemed like a good place; there shouldn't be any reason to be nervous there. She nods. "When does your last class end?"

"4 o'clock."

"Mine ends at 3:30. I'll wait for you there, okay?" Another nod. Certainly back in her shell.

Kaito stands, preparing to leave, when he glances back down one more time at the girl. She was gathering her things, and there was nothing particularly strange about the way she did it other than the fact that is was quieter and more deliberate than anyone he had ever seen. Somehow, he was struck with that feeling again, that something was wrong.

"Do you…" He trails off and she looks at him with that same unsettled stare. It reinforces his decision even more. "Do you want me to walk you to your class?" Her eyes widen in the first vivid display of emotion he had ever seen from her before she nods slowly and stands, not meeting his eyes.

"Let's go then."

They walk down the hallways silently, yet there doesn't seem to be awkwardness in it. The girl stares straight ahead, walking a polite foot or two away, and thanking him softly when they reached her destination. As Kaito watched the girl leave him for the second time in the past week, the abnormality of his new concern about her was overshadowed by a sensation of overbearing need and despair that he knew did not come from him.


	3. Chapter 3: Back and Forth

**Author's Note: **Thanks for commenting Red Eagle! I will try to update at least once a week so keep reading! And I promise, I have a pretty good plot planned for this ;)

Also, I soon plan on putting art for this story on my deviantart page. There's none there yet (I'm a new member there too) but I'll tell you when there is!

* * *

**Chapter 3: Back and Forth**

"I don't understand this at all." Meiko's head hits the table, crushing the calculus worksheet in front of her. The young woman made a sound like a deflating balloon and Kaito leaned over to try and clarify it to her.

He spewed out a long trail of mathematic terms and sequences and watched as his cousin's eyes glazed over at the nonsensical expressions. "That makes no sense." She finally declared at the end of the explanation. Kaito sighed.

"How did you even get into an Advanced Calculus class anyway?" The girl gave a dramatic shrug and put on an expression of utter maltreatment.

"I have no idea! Someone must have messed up my scheduling!" She looks down at her work, grabs her throat as if choking, and makes very convincing suffocating sounds. "This arithmetic will be the death of me!"

Kaito was not particularly worried about his cousin's approaching passing. Meiko was an actor. She did overdramatic things like this all the time. Ever since they were little she had been a strangely temperamental girl, switching personas every few minutes. It was only when she declared her dream of leading a life in the performing arts that Kaito and her parents stopped treating her as if she had multiple personality disorder.

"Ask the professor about it. Or read a textbook. Anyways I have to go." Class had ended a few minutes ago, but it being the last session of the day students were mingling for a few moments to ask questions and chat.

"What!? Where are you going?" Meiko seemed strangely aghast that he was leaving her to face the horrors of integration and differentiation alone.

Kaito piled his books and such into his bag and swung it over his shoulder. "I have to work on a project."

Meiko pouted at him "Alright…" Bidding her farewell, he strides out of the classroom and makes his way to the library building.

As he thought, the archive of books was mostly devoid of people and silent save for the bubbling from an aquarium. He set his books down at a table and glances around, noting that it was about 3:45 and he had 15 minutes before Miku got there.

Deciding to kill the time with homework, Kaito whips out an English textbook begins studying. He soon finds himself in Meiko's situation; although a wiz at mathematics and sciences, Kaito was not the best at Language Arts. Scratching his head and muttering, he flips through pages of the book, trying to comprehend what the heck a gerund was. He barely heard the soft clank of someone else's books being set down.

He looks up, meeting aquamarine eyes set in a pale face. She glimpses down at his work. He laughs sheepishly. "There you are. I was just studying." He begins to close the book when she slides over a little and looks at the tome more intently.

"Are you having trouble?" She questions. Kaito nods embarrassedly.

"I'm not much of a linguist." Hesitantly the girl reads the page he was on, and raises her eyes to him, another question begging to be spoken. He asks it for her. "Can you explain it?"

She points her finger, and begins. "This book is written badly. It's much simpler than they make it out to be." She gestures to the terms he is trying to grasp. "A gerund is a noun that looks like a verb, and an infinitive is a group of words that act as a noun." Showing him some examples and some exceptions they finally determine that he likes _sleeping_ and hates _to ski._

Relieved at finally following the stupidly named verb-tenses, he smiles widely at her to which she gives a smaller, more uneasy grin back. Remembering that there was a purpose other than study help for this meeting, Kaito pulls out his sketches and places them on the tabletop.

"Let's get to work on this…"

* * *

After an hour the two of them settled on a basic size for the structure and worked some design flaws out to the point where Kaito could begin calculating a little in preparation for the official blueprint. They planned the slope of the roof and how many pillars there would have to be around the porch as the clock struck five.

As time had gone on, Kaito had noticed that although Miku was certainly not relaxed – he was beginning to think there was no such thing for her – she had seemed to calm down slightly. After a while she wouldn't jump at any of his movements, although her eyes still followed him warily; the library was a success.

"I suppose we had better be wrapping up." He stated, shuffling the papers back into a pile. "I'll get the rest of the mathematics planned and then we should meet up again." She nods, still seeming calm, but as he stands and begins packing up he notices her glancing again and again at the clock and becoming more and more tense.

Looking outside, he notices it has begun to darken and a thought strikes him. Perhaps she is afraid to walk home by herself in the dark? It would make sense; it is dangerous for a young woman to be alone on the streets at night.

"Should I walk you home?" He asks inquiringly. Instantly she whips around and stares at him with wide eyes.

"_No!"_ He takes a step back at her fierce tone. The moment the word comes out however, she seems shrinks back ten sizes and seems horrified at herself. "I'm fine." She quickly grabs her bag and stuffs her things inside it, hands shaking so bad that Kaito can tell she's lying just by looking at her.

He wants to say something, anything, to stop whatever is making her so scared. But the words don't come, he feels as if his vocal chords have been ripped out and the comfort-creating part of his brain shut down. All that's left the problem solving part of his mind.

_She was fine until the moment I got up._

_ What happened?_

_ Did I do something? She did yell at me…_

_ But she was stressed before that…_

_ She doesn't want me to walk her home._

_ Home?_

As she gives a curt and quiet goodbye and strides quickly out the door he puts together an unsettling idea in his head.

_She's afraid to go home?_


	4. Chapter 4: Empathy

**Author's Note:** Thanks to everyone who favorited or followed this story; I feel so grateful! Also thanks to anyone who's just reading it! I hope you enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 4: Empathy**

_It hurts_.

Lying in the corner, holding her entire self tightly because there is simply too much pain to single out a specific area, that is the only thought in her mind.

_It hurts._

"This is two days in a row." The voice above her states in its lower pitch. The speaker had always had amazing control over his voice, able to lower it to this husky tone or raise it to a practically girl-sounding singing. "I don't ask much. Just get here when I expect you." He leans down and holds her face in his hands, rougher and larger than when they first met, and forcing her to look at him.

"I don't want any excuses. Get here. You owe everything to me." Staring into her eyes for a second, he drops her and walks away, turning out the lights. "You can at least do that much."

_I made another mistake._

* * *

The weather sure was fickle. In the past two hours it had gone from cold and clear, to rain, to a balmy seventy degrees. Just walking to Arden, Kaito had had to layer and unlayer his clothes multiple times. Currently, he was dressed in a long sleeve navy blue sweater with the sleeves rolled up and long kaki colored slacks. The coat he had removed after the rain passed was tied around his waist.

Because of the studying he had gotten out of the way at the library with Miku, he was already half done the calculations for the proportions and construction of their house; he could start the blueprint soon.

It was as if his thoughts on the project and his partner had called her into existence, for as he crossed onto the block before the school, she crossed the street to his left. She looked the same as always, with her heavy clothing and lowered face. When Kaito saw her, he stopped and waited on the corner. Her eyes glanced up and spotted him, quickly covering up an expression of pain that made his stomach twist.

"Good Morning Miku. You walk this way?" She nodded, looking down again. There was an aura of urgency wafting of her just as her unease usually was. Perceiving this, he wondered how it was that no one else had ever seemed to notice. Miku didn't exactly wear her heart on her sleeve, but even still, no one can keep a perfect poker face can they?

"So I got a lot of work done and I think I may have the blueprint ready soon." He continues as they walk. He smiles at her, trying to encourage her to join in the conversation some. "I think we're actually doing pretty well, don't you." She nods at him, but then sighs.

"I can't meet in the library after class." She proclaims in barely more than whisper. Kaito looks at her questioningly, about to ask why, but the expression on her face makes it clear that this is not a question that should be voiced.

"A-Alright." He stutters, trying to come up with an alternate plan. "Should we try at lunch then?" He had a hunch that this work time wouldn't be as effective, but he couldn't see another opening other than before school, and he had the feeling that neither of them wanted to get up any earlier than they already did. She declares this agreeable and they continue to walk down the block in silence.

Crossing the street one last time, they reach the campus and, with impeccable timing, Rin suddenly catapults out of a nearby bush and attaches herself to Kaito's back. With her arms around his face, he's blind and unable to breathe while frantically wobbling around under the weight of the girl.

"Good morning Kaito!" She hugs him enthusiastically, not seeming to notice his impending suffocation. "How are you today?" He makes a gesture his face and she giggles, jumping off.

He takes in a gasp of air. "Fine! I'm fine! Good morning!" She giggles again bounces backwards to where Miku has been standing, who was now looking very frightened indeed. Sensing something undesirable may occur if he did not step in, Kaito proclaims "Rin, this is Miku. I'm working on a project with her. Miku, _that_ is my friend Rin." The tealette stares at the girl.

"Y-Yes, Rin Kagamine." Miku blinks a couple of times. "I've heard of you and Len." Rin beams at the discovery of another 'fan' and starts a very one-sided conversation with the girl, who for the most part just nods and glances worriedly at Kaito as if wishing for him to reassure her that Rin is not going to detonate or something.

Leaping into the conversation - which was much like leaping into a rapidly turning jump rope - , Kaito suggests that they should continue into the building and take Miku to her classroom. They do such, but it does nothing to halt Rin's constant chatter, and by the time they reach Miku's classroom, both Kaito and Miku feel as if they have run a mile.

The girl gives and shuttering sigh and begins walking inside. Kaito waves goodbye to her, trying to send a mental apology, and she smiles slightly back. As Rin continues to babble, the thought from earlier pops into Kaito's head. Miku had obviously seemed uncomfortable, and not just because Rin was there. She had been her usual ominous self. Although perhaps Rin wasn't the most attentive person around, no one else seemed to notice things like how she constantly clutched either her clothing or hair, or the strange look in her eyes she sometimes got either.

"What do you think about Miku?" He suddenly asked, interrupting her mid-sentence. Seeming startled by the urgency of the question, her mouth hangs open for a moment.

"You mean… you don't like her do you?!"

"I don't really dislike anyone…" Rin stares at him and he realizes that isn't what she meant. "Oh, I don't think so." He shifts from one foot to the other, sure that she was going to ask another awkward question and trying to come up with something to say before that. "I really was asking more if you did. As a person of course."

The blonde knits her eyebrows and begins walking down the hall again to her class. "She's a little boring. Quiet." She finally responds. "I guess she's alright."

Just then Len came up behind them with a greeting. Rin gave her usual squeal and attacked the boy as much as she did Kaito. After a few moments of cursing and prying, they return to their walk and Kaito asks Len the same question.

"Miku Hatsune?" He ruminates nonchalantly. "I don't think anyone knows her too well – I don't – but I've heard she's smart." He rubs the back of his neck. "And, uh…nice, maybe?"

That settled it. If Len, who was always able to see through even Rin's bizarre actions, couldn't tell anything about Miku, then Kaito was sure something was going on here. Why was it that he was the only one who seemed to detect her stress?

Suddenly it clicked. Popular Rin and Len didn't know her. Gumi - the only other person he had ever seen her talk to - didn't even eat lunch with her. Kaito had even had an entire class with her last year and couldn't recall talking to her once. It wasn't that they weren't noticing; it was that she wasn't _letting _them notice. She distanced herself from everyone, he realized. No one questioned her because no one spent enough time with her to realize something was wrong.

_But I do._

The project had forced them together, _made_ her spend time with someone, and that someone was Kaito.

* * *

**A.N.: **Has anyone guessed what's up with her yet? If so, please leave a comment saying what you think it is!


	5. Chapter 5: Summons

**Author's Note**: The updates may slow down a bit now that break has ended, but I will add a new chapter _at least_ once a week, likely more. I'm sorry if the storyline is seeming a little dull, but there's a lot of plot and character building that needs to happen. Stay with me! :)

* * *

**Chapter 5: Summons**

Weeks passed by with not much changing. Most days Kaito would run into Miku on his way to school, be assaulted by Rin once on campus, go through classes, and work on the partner assignment with Miku at lunch. The blueprints were nearly finished; soon the digital design would begin.

Miku had seemed to slowly accept Kaito's presence as nonthreatening and as long as they were alone, although quiet and timid, she did not show many signs of her habitual anxiety. However, Kaito was still bothered by the fact that when anything unexpected happened she seemed to reel back and tense her entire being, almost as if preparing for something horrible. In addition, there were days when Miku did not come to school at all, sometimes for days on end. Upon returning, it didn't matter who she was with or what they were doing, for a while she was just as panicky as when Kaito first met her. If he asked about it, she quickly shut down the question with the excuse that she had been sick. It was unbelievable that someone would get sick so often.

At lunchtime Kaito would carry his unpalatable tray of food to the library where Miku and he had decided to meet. Although the work sessions were timed, the library still had a calm atmosphere which was perfect for collaborating successfully with the girl.

Today he entered the room of books with a slight spring in his step, for he was certain that they would be able to finish the blueprint today and that the majority of his workload on this project was coming to an end.

The room had a few people in it, discussing quietly and likely working or studying as Kaito and Miku had been. He wound his way through the bookshelves to their usual table, walking a little louder than normal as he neared where she sat; he found that it was better if he gave her a warning instead of suddenly appearing and startling her.

"Hey" he greeted, setting down the tray and passing the papers over to her.

"Hello" She took the drawings and began looking over them, observing the advancements he had made since yesterday.

"We're almost done on this part." He smiled and gestured to the only few places that still needed work. "I think soon you'll have to take the lead." She continued looking through, making note of some areas that would be particularly hard to lay out and already thinking about how to bring the design to life electronically.

"It's big" She states. Kaito gives a little laugh.

"It would've been hard to fit all the features you wanted into a small cottage."

She lowers her eyes and puts on a small frown. "I'm sorry." Kaito felt small dissent inside him at the sight. The word had been spoken quickly; an automatic apologetic reaction to anything that may be blame directed towards her. The expression was so contrite at something so insignificant. She didn't even question the 'accusation'. She simply accepted that something was awry and that it was her fault.

Before he realized his actions he had put a hand on her head. She flinched backwards for a moment and stared at him warily. Not exactly sure what his intent had been, he lightly patted her hair awkwardly. "You didn't do anything wrong. I like it."

Her expression went completely slack; she couldn't understand how to feel about such an action. After a moment he removed his hand and went back to the task at hand. She didn't say anything more, just sat there and helped him with his calculations.

Kaito grinned in accomplishment at the finished plans laid across the table. Every nook and cranny of the house had been planned out, every measurement calculated. Beside him Miku was observing with mild interest. She had likely not seen too many comprehensive house designs like this one. The bell which signaled the end of lunch sounded.

Kaito turned to her. "Should I leave these with you? Can you start your part?"

She nodded. "I will bring my computer in tomorrow. To show you."

Noises filtered in from the hallways and they packed up and left. As usual, Kaito began to walk Miku to her next class; he walked her to her destination whenever he saw her. He could not tell whether she appreciated this action or not, but she never seemed to be troubled by it, and there it was a strange comfort to him to know that for at least those few minutes she would not be alone.

As they turned a corner Kaito caught sight of Luka down the corridor and waved. Noticing her friend, the pink-haired girl strolled towards them, noting the existence of Miku, who had begun to slow slightly so that she was positioned somewhat behind Kaito.

"Kaito, we've all been looking for you." She states, referring to Kaito's group of friends; Luka, Rin, Len, and Meiko.

He tilts his head. "Oh, what for?" Luka glances at the tealette hovering a little bit to the back of him, obviously within earshot and an awkward expression paints itself across her face.

"Um…we were planning a karaoke night. We were going to ask you to come." She shifts from one foot to the other, obviously at a loss for how to make the selective invitation less impolite. After a moment she sort of sighs and decides that the best option is simply to make the invite less choosy. "Miku…" The smaller girls head shoots up. "You could come too. If you want."

Although the point of Luka's action was to be courteous and make Miku feel more comfortable, it appears to have the opposite effect. Her wide eyes dart around, not saying anything, but looking as if the very idea of singing was going to make her have an aneurism. Kaito instinctively steps a little closer to her.

"It's really very fun." He reassured her. Her eyes zipped to his, focusing and locking onto them like a lifeboat in the waves. "You don't even have to sing. Just come and hang out." He smiled, and very slowly she turned back to Luka.

"Thank you very much." she spoke timidly. "I will try to come."

Luka smiles nervously, glad to have appeared to have done the right thing and seeming to realize that some kind of crisis had been averted. "Good, it's Friday at 7PM at that karaoke place on Main Street. I'll tell everyone you're coming." With those words she waved goodbye and headed off to class. Kaito began to keep walking but stopped when he realized Miku wasn't following him.

"What's wrong?" The girl seemed to be in deep thought, mouthing things and counting on her fingers. Her eyebrows furrowed. She didn't notice Kaito at all. "Hey," he continued walking up to her and finally raising his hand to shake her. Before he made contact she suddenly flinched and took a step back. He stared at her in bewilderment and she stared back with equally shocked eyes that seemed to forget where she was.

"W-we're going to miss class…" he stammered, gesturing to the emptying hallway. She glances around, reason pouring back into her being, and begins walking, rather slowly, while Kaito kept a very close eye on her, and guiltily wondered if having her come to the party was really a good idea for anyone involved.


	6. Chapter 6: Knees-up

**Chapter 6: Knees-up**

_Dark. So dark._

She hadn't done anything had she?

She asked. That was enough.

Never ask for something you don't deserve.

She was nothing.

She deserved nothing.

This is _more_ than she deserved.

_But it is dark. _

_So, so dark._

* * *

Miku was not at school the next day. Kaito had not encountered her on his way to the campus, but had not found anything particularly unusual about that. Sometimes they just arrived at the corner at different times. It was when he passed her first class and watched as one by one the students filed out at the end, none of them her, that he realized it was one of those days.

He had gone through the rest of the school day with that unexpected amount of angst that always seemed to pile onto him when the girl was absent. It was a horrible feeling of foreboding, of desire to run off and help in some way that girl, for whom he had no real proof that help was needed.

Not knowing where she lived - and not exactly willing to barge in there unannounced – he was unable to act and had to simply work his way through the day, wondering why and what exactly he was worrying about.

At lunch, his friends were happy to see him.

"Who is this stranger?" Len jested as he sat down. Rin somehow managed to attach herself to both Kaito and Len at the same time while still eating her lunch. Everyone else piped in with similar comments about how he was rarely eating with them anymore. Laughing about how he was 'too busy with the project' and 'such a hard worker'. After some jokes and chats about their day, the conversation turned towards the karaoke party, and Kaito remembered it was tonight. Any excitement that welled up inside him quickly soured as he realized that Miku wouldn't be able to make it.

Meiko seemed to pick up on his gloom. "What's up?" she asked. "You look like your favorite pair of shoes just got orange paint dumped on them." Kaito stared quizzically at her weird analogy and shrugged.

"I don't know. Just not feeling good today." He didn't really see the point in telling her the real reason. He wasn't exactly sure why he felt this worried about Miku, and if he mentioned that he was thinking about a girl – let alone a girl he had been spending a lot of time with – he would never hear the end of it.

Meiko nodded wisely. "Hmm, yes. Bad aura today. I can feel it too." Kaito had no idea whether she was joking or not.

Lunch ended, and they went their separate ways, wishing each other goodbye in case they did not see them again before the party. Kaito shifted his bag to another arm and walked alone to his next class.

* * *

Kaito's breath steamed in front of him in the cold winter air. At least the weather had finally figured itself out and become appropriate for the time of year. He wrapped his scarf closer around himself and shouldered on.

The sky was completely dark by this hour. A few street lights lit the walkway as he crossed onto Main Street and began looking for the karaoke place that he and his friends had gone to a few times before. He soon found it and joined the throng of his comrades in the slight bit of brightness outside the door.

Rin ran up to him, but halted before jumping on him, surprise painting her features. "What's up with your face?" she inquired none too politely. "It's all red!" Len glanced over and grew a look of confusion as well.

"Did you walk all the way here?" Kaito nodded. "Why?"

"I couldn't find a taxi." He responded simply, not liking where the conversation was going.

This only seemed to confuse Len more. "Why not use the subway then? Are you not near a station?" Kaito saw Meiko and Luka stiffen out of the corner of his eye. They had both known him since he was very small. They knew why he could not ride the metro. It was something he generally didn't tell people; not exactly a conversation starter.

He shrugged, trying to push the twins away from the subject. "I just wanted to get some air. It's a nice night." Deciding the explanation sufficient, Rin and Len dropped the matter, to Kaito's great relief.

"We have reservations." Luka spoke, breaking the silence. "Let's go in and get our room." Everyone began to file towards the door, unwrapping scarfs and ripping off hats and mittens. Kaito was at the end, lagging because of even more depression and stress being dragged up to the surface.

His hand was on the door when he picked up a sound. He had no idea how he heard it; it was so tiny and far off in the still of night, but he heard it, and turned towards it. Squinting and ignoring his friends' complaints of cold air being let in, he stares out into the darkness until he can make out a small form running towards the building from down the street.

Instantly he's sprinting towards it, his long legs closing the distance in a few seconds. The freezing wind whistles past his ears before he stops and stares in surprise at the girl breathing heavily, and not saying a word.

"Miku" he breathes. The light is dim and he can barely see an outline, but he knows it is her. He'd know her anywhere.

Very slowly he puts out his hand and touches her on the arm, leading her towards the doorway through which Meiko, Luka, Rin, and Len had disappeared into after assuming that Kaito had totally and utterly lost it. Nearing the lit building, he can begin to make her out better. The familiar teal hair – today interlaced into one long side-braid, the nervous way she bites her lip, the eye circles that seem darker now than ever. She's shivering slightly and Kaito quickly removes his scarf, holding it out to her. She stops in her tracks and hesitantly reaches towards it, grasping it, and wrapping it carefully around her own neck as if afraid of doing it wrong.

Satisfied that she won't freeze to death in the last few seconds outside, Kaito opens the door and ushers her inside to where the rest of his party is checking themselves in. They smile at his entry and, although surprised, seem none too upset that Miku turned up after all.

While the four of them are handling getting their room, Kaito leads Miku over to the waiting area and sits her down on a chair. The girl is still breathless and has no jacket on, only a turtleneck sweater and skirt with dark leggings. She is wearing gloves, but just the thin ones she sometimes dons at school.

"You came." He whispered, amazed at how just seeing her seemed to take a weight off his chest. "You weren't at school today; we thought you weren't coming." When she turns her head to look at him he notices a bandage covering one cheek, and, before she can respond, he speaks again.

"What happened to your cheek?" Her hand swiftly flies up to her face, covering the dressing, as if believing that if he doesn't see it, it doesn't exist. As he continues to gaze at her, not backing down, she squirms a little bit and looks everywhere but him.

"I was stung by a bee." A bee? In the middle of December?

"Hey, you two" Meiko calls as he opens his mouth again. "Come on, let's go sing!"

Miku jumps up, and begins walking towards the rest of the group. Away from Kaito, and away from the questions that for some reason she is unable to answer.

* * *

Rin and Len wail in synchronized harmony through the microphones for a good half hour, and Kaito begins to think that maybe they should've gone last. Being professional singers, no one else here can expect to sound as good as them, and listening to that skilled singing probably just saps any confidence right out of anyone else wanting to perform. He appears to be right – as they finish their final song and ask who's going next, it takes a long time for Meiko to raise her hand. She sings a multi-octave piece in a sultry and attention grabbing voice before handing the microphone off to Luka who searches through the playlist until she reaches 'Perfectionist Complex', a soft legato tune that leaves them all feeling rather serene.

The whole time, Miku sits in a corner next to Kaito, observing with unrestrained awe; an expression that Kaito had never seen on her before. The angst that had descended on him was lesser now as he watched his friends sing, although Miku absentness that day and her 'bee sting' hung in the back of his mind like a deadly curse.

Suddenly the microphone is thrust in front of his face. Rin grins like a madman. "Your turn!" Kaito smiles and shakes his head to which Rin pouts. "Come on Kaito! I haven't heard you sing since Gakupo went away!"

Luka shrugs. "What can you say? He doesn't like to sing without his best friend." At the nomination of the well-known singer as Kaito's friend, Miku turns to him.

"Gakupo Kamui? He is your friend?" Kaito nods, suddenly wondering how it is that he personally knows so many pop-stars.

"He's a friend of all of us, really. Me, Meiko, and Luka just knew him the longest." He smiles as if looking back in the past. "We grew up together."

There is silence for a moment and then Rin glances at Miku. "Would you like to sing Miku?" She asks very softly. The said girl tenses and looks around at the people in the room.

"It's fun, don't worry." Luka assures her, more motherly and thoughtful than usual.

"It's a way to express yourself." Meiko urges. "You feel really good afterwards!"

"You don't have to if you don't want." Rin clarifies, acting more considerate and kind than Kaito had ever seen. "I just don't want you to be left out if you do."

With a shock Kaito realizes that everyone had probably begun to perceive how uneasy Miku always is; they've seen her enough and now they've spent an entire evening with her. Now they're going easy, being comforting, perhaps not really understanding the feeling that surrounds her, but understanding that she is a person that must be treated with care.

Kaito leans towards her marginally. "I'd like to hear you." He encourages her. She looks at him and he sees a strange mix expressions floating through her aqua eyes. She then carefully takes the microphone, searches through the playlist for a song she knows, turns it on, and opens her mouth and sings.

* * *

**A.N.:** Yes fangirls, the elusive Gakupo Kamui will be making an appearance later on ;)

**Edit:** Oh yeah! I finally drew that fanart! I'll put the link up in my profile.


	7. Chapter 7: Past and Present

**Chapter 7: Past and Present**

He cannot focus on anything. An officer pulls him away from the tracks he desperately tries to run towards. He knows he is passed from the police to a social worker to an uncle and aunt that he didn't even remember he had. They fuss over him greatly. A girl in a red dress hides behind the woman's legs. Words spew from their mouths, all optimistic quotes and comforting smiles. They are faking. They are just waiting for the children to be occupied so they can cry without distressing anyone.

A glass of warm milk is given to him. He can't drink it. There is a numbness spread all throughout his body and mind, and he knows that if anything went inside him right now, it would just find its way back out. He just wants to go to sleep.

They lead the boy upstairs to an office that was quickly converted into a makeshift bedroom. They declare his belongings are coming tomorrow and soon that they will clear this entire room out so it can become his. He still says nothing. Their façade falls and they walk up. Each put a hand on his shoulder. The tears come then, from everyone, even the confused girl watching from the door. The loss is different for everyone, but it is all loss. In that moment, they are one being. One quietly sobbing and grieving being.

* * *

Her voice is high and clear, hitting every note with surprising accuracy. It is quite unlike any other type of singing Kaito had ever heard before, in that although completely unrefined, it was beautiful.

She didn't even watch the words on the screen; she seemed to know the song by heart. She stood perfectly still and the words resonated out.

_A shotgun and a telecaster,_

_At a loss for words, it's so unlucky._

_With wounds all around, it's game over._

_Don't you feel uncomfortable looking at it?_

_I tripped and gave up _

_On the idea of my 'One more time'._

_Rolling through my repeated mistakes_

_The only thing I could've done was laugh it off._

_The one man live act was a hit,_

_The festival moved me quite a bit._

_Even though we agreed to stop it,_

_Why not one more table-flip?_

_My singing voice broke apart_

_Still wavering through the time._

_Just as you've fallen into my hands,_

_How you feel, I'll try to understand._

_Bad dreams continue haunting me._

_Don't you forget those mistakes you've made!_

_Well you reap what you sow, I know! I know!_

_Oh no, oh no, that so? That so? That's so._

_But how can you think that?! That this is happy?!_

_Waking up at four AM with lost and hollow eyes?_

_If I run away? Well, will I be happy?_

_I just want to sleep without having to cry._

_Well this is, so this is, my own happy._

_Crumbling on the asphalt without seeing the end._

_Breaking into nothing, is my own lucky._

_Only the thought of you is holding me back._

_So is it, so is it, so is it lucky?_

_Still spinning round on the 39th loop._

_So is it, so is it, well is it happy?_

_I don't understand why it doesn't feel good!_

_The sounds still echo here and there,_

_I can't tell where they begin or if they will end._

_Those words? Those words! They weren't important!_

_But it seems like we didn't understand anyway!_

_Somewhere we can't see,_

_It drops finally,_

_An upside-down girl's_

_Adulterated world._

The song ends and slowly she lowers the microphone. No one says a thing. She begins fidgeting little bit, disturbed by the silence, and looking more self-conscious every second. Finally Len pipes up.

"That was really good." He states in blunt awe. Over the course of the song he had risen from his reclined position in an armchair and stared at the girl with his mouth slightly open. Meiko, Luka, and Rin had similar reactions.

Miku bites her lips, expression displaying how certain she is that he's lying. Everyone reads into this at once and the room suddenly explodes with comments about her amazing singing and assurances that she was fantastic. At first the attention seems to overwhelm her – takes a step back from the group – but as it is made clear that their intent is to praise her, she settles down and becomes bashfully pleased and almost apologetic.

After politely declining a request to sing another tune, she sits down next to Kaito again, seeming very deep in thought. He applauds her performance as well, but his mind is truly elsewhere. The song she had sang – did the others realize what the lyrics were really portraying?

She had sung with such subtle but acute feeling that it instantly caught Kaito's attention and he began to focus on what she was actually saying. The longer he listened, the more his mind whirled and turned. It had been a popular melody in days past, but it only struck a series of chords inside Kaito now that he had heard Miku sing it. There were certain lyrics that just seemed too familiar, and other parts that fit in and continued to cultivate a dark and misty picture in Kaito's head.

A few more tunes were caroled after that, but it was getting late and the group was growing tired. After about fifteen minutes they disband, paying the clerk for their time, and heading out the door. Once outside, Meiko, Luka, Rin, and Len all headed towards the subway station. The twins had seemed to accept that Kaito had a strong distaste for underground railroads and Miku had declared that her house was not far from here.

"Bye you two!" Rin called exuberantly, likely waking up one or two annoyed residents in the process. The rest of the party waves and they vanish below the streets. Kaito and Miku are left standing alone in silence.

As usual, he is the one to break it. "I'm sure you're aware of it by now, but you really are a marvelous vocalist." She nods with a small sound of embarrassment, and Kaito watches disbelievingly as the smallest of blushes spreads across her one visible cheek.

"It…was fun." She declares at length, seeming to decide her outlook on the night right then and there.

"You enjoyed it? Would you come again?" She looks at him surprised.

"I did." Her slight bit of happiness seems to suddenly float away from her, like deflating balloon losing air. "I don't think I'll be able to come again though."

Kaito furrows his eyebrows. "Why?"

This was another question, like the ones about her injury and absence, that Miku did not seem to like. Her words are stuttering and he can tell that's she eluding the truth again. "I-I have our project to work on…and there's a lot of work around the house." Her excuse is weak at best. "Besides, I don't want to intrude anymore."

Kaito can feel the disagreement playing across his features. "You're not intruding. Everyone liked you. It was fun." He desperately tries to console her in some way, nevertheless the anxiety builds up on her again.

"I have to get home." She suddenly whispers, staring at the ground. The words are remote, another one of her automatic phrases. Kaito takes a step forward.

"Then I'll walk you there."  
As before, her voice abruptly becomes very alarmed. "No, it's fine-"

"It's not far away, I know." He gazes at her until her eyes meet his and they lock. "All the more reason I should walk with you." She looks petrified, almost as if about to bolt for it. Again, home. She doesn't want to go home; she doesn't want him to see her home; she's terrified. He softens his forceful tone and smiles sadly at her.

"At least let me take you to your street." He sighs. Her face sort of crinkles up with an expression he can't quite name and she lowers her half-lidded eyes. A small defeated nod and a stride down the path leads them in the right direction.

The temperature has dropped even more, and a steady wind has begun to blow. Kaito glances to his side every few minutes to check up on the girl, make sure she is okay. She's shaking every time, but he's sure it's not from the cold.

The street lights become less and less, the sidewalk full of potholes. The environment around them slowly deteriorates more and more. Graffiti litters alleyways and rusted chain link fences surround minuscule houses. Finally she stops at a street corner and turns to him, gesturing weakly down a street.

"I'm three houses down." She affirms quietly. He looks down the road but can see nothing but darkness after a few yards. Looking back to her she is holding out his scarf; she had been wearing it the whole time.

Too many suggestions about her situation pop into his head in the depressing surroundings. They swarm in massive colonies, each grappling for his attention. Head swimming, he reaches out and retrieves his wrap.

"I'll see you tomorrow, right?" He questions, surprised at how desolate his own voice sounds. She replies with equally bleak eyes staring at him. No promises.

She walks down the avenue after giving a faint goodbye, and he wonders why it is that he doesn't reach out and stop her. She has the air of a human sacrifice, heading off in submission. There is something ungodly waiting for her at the third house down. He knows it. Stop her. Stop.

But she's gone. The dark street is empty and Kaito has no choice but to turn and leave, wrapping his scarf holding the scent of her back around his neck. As he walks he swears he can hear a sound again. At the edge of his senses, a silent noise, undistinguishable expect for a strong sensation of misery.

* * *

**Author's Note: **The song is 'Unhappy Refrain' and the lyrics here are just a mish-mash of different versions that I combined to get across the theme I wanted. Exciting things will start happening soon, so review and keep reading!


	8. Chapter 8: Disconnect

**Author's Note: **Ahgggg...a long chapter. The end is near! The chapters should start coming quickly now so check every day! Thanks to all of you reading! It really makes me happy to know someone is enjoying my work!

Oh, and to any Piko fans. I love Piko too; I just needed a villain.

* * *

**Chapter 8: Disconnect**

His eyes are deeply shadowed from a restless night's sleep as Kaito strides towards the school. Too many thoughts had been racing through his mind, too many emotions. He had jumped up once or twice during the midnight hours, determined to run off to Miku's house and check on her, but stopping after realizing that he wasn't sure he could find his way back there. It was a pointless idea anyway; it's not like she would tell him if anything was wrong.

The sky is a monochrome grey that seems to paint everything in its one-toned vacuity. The winter air wafts around teasingly. No snow. Not yet.

Upon reaching the routine corner right before campus, Kaito glances up, taking in the sight of a shivering girl leaning against the side of a building, apparently waiting. He strides up to her and she lifts her eyes. They both say nothing for a while; there's not much to be said after last night. Not much reveals itself on Miku's face. It is a blank, heavily shielded wall. The bandage on her cheek seems larger than ever.

"Hey" Kaito finally whispers.

"Hello" The voice is guarded. The silence quickly settles again. Kaito gives a sigh as her eyes float back to the ground. He gestures forward and they walk in muteness despite the million things that have to be said.

* * *

"Your home is due by the end of next week." The architecture teacher announces at the end of class. "Don't bring it late or we won't accept it." The bell dings for lunch and he calls out the night's homework before turning the students loose.

As usual, Kaito heads straight for the library. After taking only a few steps down the hall however, a hand reaches out and grabs him on the shoulder, effectively halting him. He spins around to meet the sight of Meiko and the twins.

"Hey you little rascal! You off to work with Miku?" His brown haired cousin asks. He nods his head and they gesture forward, indicating that he should continue on. They tag along behind him, asking questions and talking.

"Did you guys want something?" He asks after a while, a little confused at their nearness. Rin moves her arms akimbo and Len shrugs.

"We just wanted to chat. Don't get to see you too much anymore."

Rin quickly jumps in. "Not that we're mad or anything!" She assures him "It…would be nice if you two could join us in the café for once."

Kaito makes an awkward smile, unsure about how to explain this. "I don't think Miku really feels comfortable with all those people…" he trails off. The twins seem clearly troubled and Meiko sighs sadly.

"She…really is a mess, huh?" Considering this a simple way to put it, he nods. His three friends glance nervously at each other, displaying the same want, but inability, to help Miku that Kaito had felt since he met her.

Upon reaching the bookroom, Kaito's companions do not depart immediately, but instead stick their heads through the door, searching for the tealette. She sits at the usual table and they wave to her, calling out hushed greetings. Her eyes spread wide at them, obviously surprised that they came to see her, and she raises her hand in an uncomfortable wave. As the three disappeared around the door, Miku quickly pulled a laptop out of her bag, set it on the table and started it up.

Not meeting Kaito's eyes, she begins explaining reservedly "I have the entire structure set up already. The walls, roof, pillars…" She spins the computer around to show him a 3-D model of the building he and drawn rotating slowly on the screen. Everything is exactly to his specifications. She clicks a button and makes certain walls invisible to show the plumbing and air vents situated inside the walls.

"All we have to do is add paint, shingles, furniture…" He muses and lightly taps his finger on the table, catching her attention and making her glance at him. "This is perfect." Her gaze is still wary and uncertain; she seems to hide behind the monitor. Unnerved by the way the night's events have seemed to cause her backtrack what little bit she had trusted him, he says again, a little more forcefully. "I'm not being nice. You did a wonderful job."

Her eyebrows furrow in another of her unreadable expressions and she says nothing in response to the compliment, just asks him what color they should make the roof.

* * *

The next day was of much the same caliber as the one before with the same steel-grey skies and icy weather. There was no Miku at the corner today. Stopping for a moment, he waited to see if she was about to come. After a while, it became apparent that she was nowhere near and he went on to school without her.

The first few classes went on as if the world was normal, which Kaito supposed for most people it was. However, within his group of friends, a deep restlessness was growing. Everyone was aware of Miku's odd behavior by now. Kaito was not sure how to feel about this; on one side he was glad that she would have more people –possibly friends – beginning to understand and support her. But on the other hand, he somehow felt like they shouldn't have to worry about it. They had nothing to do with it. And the fact that everyone was under the same ominousness just made it feel as if the world were a spinning raincloud.

As he moved from his second class to third he suddenly heard his name called out behind him and spun around to see Gumi Megapoid jogging towards him, urgency radiating off of her the way her sun-shiney demeanor usually did.

"Kaito! Did you hear about Miku?" Instantly he focuses, all thoughts of school gone.

"What happened to her?" The ferocity of his voice makes the girl blink twice before responding.

"Well," Her face crunches up nervously "she arrived late, and when she sat down she seemed a little…unwell, you know? I asked her if she was alright, and she said she was fine, but then" She swallows stressfully and Kaito nearly reaches out and shakes her to get the rest of the story to come. "She collapsed. Fainted. The teacher had to call the nurse." Gumi shifts from foot to foot under Kaito's intense gaze.

"I'm sorry, I know you might not really care, but I just thought because she's your partner you should know that she probably can't work today." Kaito shakes his head, already taking a step in the direction of the infirmary.

"No, thank you for telling me Gumi."

* * *

The nurse gives Kaito a disapproving look, as if thinking about turning him back to class, but then allows him to enter and directs towards the room in the back.

"Don't be too loud now." She warns "And if she's sleeping just come right back out." He thanks her and proceeds to step inside the dimly lit sick-room.

The room holds nothing more than a small table and a cot, on which a familiar small frame lies. Her blue-green hair fans out around her, not tied up and looking slightly unkempt. Her closed eyes are a dark bruise-like purple against the porcelain pallor of her skin, and her chest rises lightly, unevenly. Thinking the girl asleep, he prepares to step out, but her eyelids break open the tiniest bit, revealing aqua orbs that move and lock on him.

"Kai…to…" The word is so weak and slurred that it feels like a needle right through his heart. He leans down, looking over her.

"Yes, I'm here. Are you alright?" She stares unfocusedly upwards at him. "Gumi told me you collapsed."

She makes a small sound, either of exhaustion, exasperation, or pain; he cannot tell. She then slowly nods. "Yes. I just…didn't sleep very well…" Her eyes flicker open a bit more and she frowns. "I'm sorry. I forgot my laptop. I finished…" She trails off, falling back into tiredness again.

The nurse pops in just then, taking the girl's temperature and blood pressure. After the tests she surveys Miku worriedly. "You're not in too good of shape, hon." Kaito whips his head in her direction. "I think you need to go home and get some rest." She suggests.

Home. Not a good idea. Miku seems to feel much the same way, judged by the sigh that escapes her mouth, but all the same she pulls herself shakily out of bed, the nurse and Kaito warning her to take it easy the whole time.

"Are you sure you'll be okay by yourself?" The woman questions apprehensively. Miku nods but Kaito immediately speaks in disapproval.

"Absolutely not." He declares, having both ladies gazes land on him at once. "I'll take her home."

The nurse makes a suspicious face at him, thoughts going over in her head about her impression of the young man. She speaks in very pointed words. "I know everyone in this school Kaito Shion. You take her home safely, hear?" He nods, and with a few instructions about how to set her up there, they leave.

Once outside the office, Miku weakly tries to convince him to let her go alone. He is unyielding however and ushers her out of the building. At the road, he directs her to sit on a bench and begins to hail a taxi.

"Please," She begs, sounding so desperate that Kaito knows he can't back down; he has to find out, at least a little, what is going on with her. "I can do it by myself. Let me go alone."

"No, Miku." He states gently yet resolutely. "You're not fit to travel alone in this condition, and besides" a taxi pulls up and a he sticks out a hand to her, which she hesitantly takes. Her fingers feel cold and fragile, a few random scrapes across them. He pulls her up. "you can show me the finished project, right?" As they enter the cab and she gives the driver the destination, her entire being slowly tenses and tenses, as if closing in on itself.

* * *

Once again the streets deteriorate around them, and the cab driver locks the car doors. After about fifteen minutes, they reach a street Kaito vaguely remembers and pay the driver, who speeds off in a hurry. Turning from the street, he faces the house whose footpath Miku slowly walks up.

It's nothing more than four walls with a roof really. A rusting door is set in the front of the building, but other than that the only entryways visible are small windows near the ceiling that seem to be covered from the inside. Weeds choke what should be a garden and the white siding is stained green with mildew. Miku trods to the small corroded entrance and pulls out a key, which she sticks in the lock and turns. The door swings open with a creak and the girl turns around, unguarded pain present in her eyes, before sliding into the darkness within.

The inside is dim and tight and reeking of alcohol and ciggarette smoke. Through a small archway that Miku leads him past, Kaito catches of a ratty couch and cable TV. She takes him to a tiny side room, with nothing more in it than a desk, chair, and a bookcase. Her computer rests on the tabletop, glowing slightly in sleep mode. She wakes it up and the completed image of their house appears on the screen.

"I'll put it on a flash drive for you." Her words stay surprisingly steady, but the anxiety works its way out through her shaking hands. It takes her four tries to get the stick in the USB port. As the file loads, Kaito finds himself at a loss for words. This house, the filth, the_ alcohol_, Miku wouldn't live like this. Not by choice.

The sound of the door scraping open reaches the room and Miku spins around, pure horror so evident on her usually guarded face it's painful. She pulls the flash drive out of the port and shoves it into Kaito's hands, pulling him out of the room and towards the door at the same time. Reaching the front room there is another person there. A man, with shocking white hair and mismatched eyes. He glances at them with a frown.

"Who is this?" He questions, pulling his shoes off with his feet. Miku's voice is so penitent and soft that she has to say the words twice before anyone hears her.

"He's just a classmate, Piko. I needed to give him something I was working on." The man's eyes lock with Kaito's , searching, analyzing, dark blue and green pools filled with thinly-veiled emotions that twist and turn like a snake in the darkeness. Before a single thing can pass between them, a word, an expression, a throw, Miku pushes Kaito out the still open door. He tries to say something, tries to stop her, but she quickly cuts him off.

"See you later!" she practically screams, a desperate high pitched voice that makes it all too obvious of what's to come. But even so, she slams the door in Kaito's face, and when he tries to open it, it's locked.


	9. Chapter 9: Mistake

**Author's Note:** Almost at the end! The chapters will be coming really fast so check all the time! They'll be a new one everyday!

* * *

**Chapter 9: Mistake**

It's the end of the semester and a half day for school. Usually, Kaito would just stay home on a day like this, but at just six o'clock in the morning he's sprinting down the sidewalk. He doesn't carry any bags or books; he has no intention of going to class as the only ones the teachers want to see there are those who need to make up work.

Like a girl who misses days on end.

Reaching the corner, he slows, hands on his knees. Breathing heavily, he checks his watch. Only 6:15. He exhales a gasp of carbon monoxide and leans against the building, his stomach clenching from more than just excursion. As with the past few days and nights, his mind was filled with Miku, pushing all other thoughts away. The examination of her house and its other inhabitant had flung open the final door in his mind, leading to a horrific abysmal suspicion that he wasn't quite sure very how to verify. There was one thing to do then of course; he had to see Miku.

Kaito wasn't exactly sure what time Miku and him usually met on this corner – and had a notion that she might try to avoid him today by coming early or late – so he decided he would get there before the school would even be open and wait until she arrived.

The sun rose coldly in the icy sky, dyeing distant clouds in a pink-gold tinge, and shining off the frost that had settled over everything in a brilliant display, not unlike a world made entirely out of diamonds. He slides down to the ground and watches as the city comes to life.

It begins with curtains being drawn back, faces looking out at the day. A paperboy bikes past and the receivers head out to get it. The smell of coffee and frying bacon wafts from somewhere nearby. Cars soon start up; business men heading off to work. The sun rises higher now, the sky a sharp blue in-between hazy clouds. A café across the street opens its doors; a waiter stands at the entrance, looking as if he wished he had a coat on. Students walk by now. Middle school, high school, college. They chat and wrap their clothing around them tighter. Buses pass. And Kaito sits through it all.

Just as it came, the morning rush, it slowly ebbs, until the streets are all but empty. She didn't come. But Kaito still sits there, waiting, bones stiff and cold from being on the frozen ground.

Suddenly his eyes focus. A flash of teal, far away at the end of the street. He stands and she sees him. Her steps falter, uncertainty flickering across her features. Not wasting any time, he quickly looks left and right and crosses the street, jogging over to her. She tenses backwards as he approaches, holding her books a little in front of her. It's a defensive pose. He slows and walks the rest of the way to her.

"Miku" he exhales. She looks around him, trying to see if there is any way to somehow slip by without him catching her. "Miku, listen." Her eyes meet his, wide pools of distress. He moves a hand forward, meaning it just to be a comforting gesture, he wasn't going to touch her, but she jumps back just like the last time. Sighing, he takes a step back and looks at her full on.

"I'm not going to do anything." He says slowly. She bites her lip without a word. "Just listen, alright?" He begs, voice very low. "You probably know that school is a half-day today." she nods and he continues. "There will be some extra time afterwards, so I want to go someplace with you. We can walk around and…talk." Her expression is much like the one she made when Luka asked if she wanted to come do karaoke with them. Decisions, perhaps she doesn't like them either. "Please come."

She gazes hopelessly at him for a second and then nods her head again, seeming too tired to try and argue. He smiles again, a forced and miserable attempt at lightening the mood that doesn't work. As he walks Miku to school, he looks down at his watch again. 10:15. The girl is almost three hours late.

* * *

Kaito had wandered around the town while waiting. Window shopping, people watching. He noticed the calendar in the first non-school related way in a while and realizing it was already past Christmas. After two hours, he returned to campus, where the few students who had gone to school were beginning to filter out.

Stepping inside the gates, he gazes around for blue-green pigtails. He finds them, but not where he expected them to be. Instead of exiting the building, Miku is leaning against it, staring dully at the sky. Kaito bounds up to her and she shifts her head so she's looking at him.

"I'm sorry," he raises his eyebrows sheepishly. "I didn't mean to make you wait."

She detaches herself from the wall. "It's okay." It's the first time he's heard her timorous voice all day. He gestures to the way he came and they set out, Miku trailing slightly behind Kaito as he leads her to their destination.

* * *

Even in the barren emptiness of winter, the city's central park is still a beautiful place. Perfectly shaped oaks reach out skeletal arms to the sky and a large partially frozen lake creates a natural painting in the ground. Cobblestone paths wind throughout the gardens where some very determined grass and clover still grow. The surroundings are quiet; no one else would think to go to a park in the wintertime.

Despite the serene surroundings, a strange urgency is bubbling inside Kaito as he leads the girl around the estate, pointing out beautiful landmarks to her. She seems to be somewhat shut down by the setting, a sort of numb safety mode for when things get too stressful for her. Continuing down the path, the pair reaches a sitting area of wooden benches and cherry trees a long way from blooming. Kaito stops by one of the benches, and stares at Miku, who stares back, his words that need to be said finally overflowing.

"Who was that yesterday?" He asks, looking straight into her eyes. They are dull, distant. A breath or two passes before she responds.

"Piko Utatane." After another silence she continues. "He's my…boyfriend." She says the last word rather strangely, although her expression doesn't change. Kaito's heart thunders as more questions rise to the surface, taking form, but he's unable to speak again. She's living with a man. One that she's in a relationship with. He knows the next thing he has to ask, but he swallows first, thinking, trying to figure out a way to make the inquiry softer.

"What…what does he do?" She stares at him with the same blank eyes, a hint of alarm underneath the numb like the flash of a fish under a frozen pond. No words, just a look to her side, away, anywhere but at him. Painfully, Kaito forces himself to ask again, not sure he wants to know the answer but certain that he has to. "What does he do to you?" Her eyes are back on him again, ambivalent, shadows wavering and vanishing in their corners like the answers he just can't reach.

_But how can you think that?! That this is happy?!_

He stands

_Waking up at four AM with lost and hollow eyes?_

And takes a step,

_If I run away? Well, will I be happy?_

And another,

_I just want to sleep without having to cry. _

Getting closer

_Only the thought of you is holding me back._

And closer

_So is it, so is it, well is it happy?_

To the petrified girl.

_I don't understand why it doesn't feel good!_

Standing only a few inches apart, they lock gazes, both tensed as if about to run, but unwilling to move. Kaito observes her, and the way she always has been. Anxious, quietly terrified.

_With wounds all around, it's game over._

_Don't you feel uncomfortable looking at me?_

"I'm sorry." he whispers as he reaches and down and grabs her wrists. She struggles feebly, but quickly gives out a gasp of pain under his light grip; what should be a painless grip. Before she can make a another sound he pulls back her loose sleeves all the way up her arm, as far as they will go, and stares.

Scattered all along her thin ashen appendages are marks covering practically every inch of skin. There are bruises in various stages, from the brown-yellow of healing to the bright purple of fresh wounds. Red patches reveal where a hand has grabbed her roughly, nail marks digging into the skin and drawing blood. There are bandages too, wrapping around entire sections of her limbs. Scars and closing scratches fill any remaining space. All of these injuries, and all of them beneath her heavy clothing.

Kaito is dimly aware of the girl shrieking, trying to pull away, begging him to let go, but his mind is focused on her arms, her legs, her neck, her _cheek_; all covered; all beaten. Suddenly he's brought back to reality and releases her. She stumbles back a few feet, doubled over like if she stopped holding herself, she would fall apart. Her face is painted with horror and she's shaking so badly she can't even pull her sleeves down.

Kaito stands there frozen, in utter disbelief of what he just saw. There seems to be a yawning emptiness in his center, expanding and eating up everything. Miku breath hitches and she backs up a little more.

"P-Please ," she trembles and her eyes shut like the world is too ugly to look at "D-Don't tell anyone…please"

Her words ignite a spark inside him, filling the empty space with fire, anger, and confusion. He shakes his head at her, trying to find the right things to say. "You…you have to get out of there. You have to leave him." Kaito's voice is horse, and he realizes he is on the verge of tears. Miku stands there like a broken doll, shivering and breathing in an uneven and loud manner.

"No!" She screams, "No I can't! You don't understand." She wobbles on her feet and pushes teal hair out her eyes with one shaking hand. "I'm dirty!" She exclaims "A mistake! I'm _lucky_ to have him, a man who would take care of me no matter how worthless I am!"

"_He's not taking care of you!"_ Kaito roars, hands clenching into fists. "Look at yourself Miku- _Look at what he's done to you!"_

"He saved me! He's_ helping_ me!"

"_He's_ _hurtin__g you!" _In his rage, he takes a step forward and the girl jumps back again. Realizing his mistake, he calms his demeanor and softens his voice to a plead, waiting a moment before speaking to let her calm down.

"You don't deserve that. No one does-" He means to say more, however before he can get another word out, do one more thing, Miku is shaking her head violently.

"Stop it!" She yelps, tears beginning to pour out her eyes and sobs racking her body. "_Stop it! _Don't-" Kaito starts towards her, to comfort her, to protect her, but to no a avail. She's blind to anything other than what she considers the truth, her mind closed like a door. "_Don't waste your time on garbage like me!"_ She cries, turning around and runing, swift and fueled by adrenaline, leaving Kaito behind her.


	10. Chapter 10: Love

**A.N.:** Aw, gosh was this painful to write. I don't really know if I did the scene justice. I have this perfect idea in my mind, you know? But sometimes I just can't get it down in words. Tell me what you think...

Thanks to everyone reading!

* * *

**Chapter 10: Love**

The couch groans as he slid on top of her, taking up her entire vision and slamming his lips against hers. She gasps and he takes the opportunity to slip his tongue inside her, deepening the kiss. She can feel her face flaring up crimson and he chuckles at the sight. She was quick to blush, and he had always said it was adorable.

Uncertainly, she raises her hands to tangle them in his hair, releasing a sensual growl in the back of his throat. She's relieved by his pleasure; she's never quite sure how to act in this sort of situation. Luckily, she almost never has to take the lead. He always starts it, he always drives it. She just goes along with what he says.

The boy's kisses slowly trail from her mouth to across her cheek and down her throat, leaving ticklish caresses in his wake. Finally he reaches the base of her neck. She gives a small cry of discomfort as he bites down, but it's quickly over, and his forehead is against hers, their breaths mingling.

"I love you" he murmurs, gazing at her with dark eyes, and rubbing his hands up and down her sides in smooth circles. She shivers under his light touch as it slowly loops lower and lower. There's a strange tingling, in his hands, in her stomach, everywhere. Not wanting to say a thing, the wrong thing, she leans forward and again captures his mouth in hers. One hand loops around the waistband of her jeans as the other pulls her face closer to his, caging her in a whirl of heat and desire.

* * *

Darkness again. There's no windows, not even in the door. He'd be mad if she opened it to let the sunbeams in. When was the last time the lights were on? Where even is the light switch? The girl lies in the corner, rumpled cyan locks falling in disarray across the floor. From her spot on the ground, she can see practically nothing; just the occasional flickering of a lighter in the other room. The smell of fire wafts around her, she can hear the click of a spark and his exhale of breath. She's forgetting to breathe. Breathe.

The fuzziness in her brain lightens a little, but there's still nothing, no reason to get up. He put her on the ground. There must be a reason. She's down there because she should be.

_No one deserves that._

Her eyes snap shut, not that it makes much of a difference on her awareness. Although one sense has been blocked out, the words still float through her mind. She pushes them away. He's too kind. She isn't worthy of such compassion. Put that away. Away.

Her surroundings suddenly go quiet. Is she asleep? No, not exactly. She's nowhere. Floating. Many things flicker through her sight, yet she doesn't see them. It's quiet. Stay there. Stay.

There's a slam and her eyes fly open, mind shocked out of the strange and soundless world. There's dull light streaming in through the open front door, three figures stand silhouetted against the outside glare. Voices chatter and crack, she can't understand them. Her sentience seems to be wavering as if it's the refection in a pond. A figure moves over to her, reaching down and pulling her upright. A finger goes to her throat, another to her eyes which are opened, a bright light shining into them. The person is saying something. The girl focuses, it's important. This is important.

"A-…yo- alright?" The officer asks. She blinks at him a couple times and then nods weakly. Offering a hand, the policeman hauls her up, steadying her shaking stance, as a sound comes from the other room and three people fall through the doorway.

Hands pinned behind his back, the two other officers hold the man to the ground. His face is smashed sideways into the tile, his eyes the same wide astonishment as the girl that watches him. The people are saying something, he's yelling something back, but she can't hear it. Hands cuffed, the police pull him back up and walk him out the door into the light. Not even realizing it, she follows with slow hesitant footsteps that pad out onto the dead lawn and watches as they shove him into one of the three cars outside. She stares at him, waiting, waiting for him to turn around and look at her, like she's so desperately looking at him, but he never does.

"You need help?" The man asks her. "A hospital…" she shakes her head. He questions again, worriedly, but she denies with even more force. With an order to just say so if she needs anything, he pulls out a cell phone and begins reporting his arrest as the other one car drives away.

The other man walks up to her. Questions come out, the ones she doesn't want to answer. She gets stuck, not being able to say anything. He probes her more, thinly-veiled annoyance in his voice, jotting down a few notes before walking off into the house without another word.

More cruisers arrive. Lights and sirens. More and more officers go inside, examine the building, examine her. She's passed from person to person until she reaches the fence. There's a man standing there, his azure hair moving slightly in the chilled wind. There's a tightening in her chest at the sight of him, her throat feels as if it's filled with sand.

"…why?" She finally forces out, a strained cracking voice. His indigo eyes are filled with sorrow. "Why did you do that?" She cries again, louder, but just as weakly. He begins to say something but she shakes her head, the horror of it all suddenly crashing down on her.

"_He was all I had!_" She whisper-yells "_Everything_! _He did everything for me!"_

"He did nothing for you, Miku." Kaito spoke quietly. "Nothing at all."

She could feel the tears boiling up inside of her once more, and she willed them to stay down; she can't cry again. Her throat goes hoarse and dry as she clenches her hands into fists. "Maybe he didn't! But that's perfect, right?" breath comes faster and faster and she's practically panting as she continues "It's perfect! Because I don't _deserve_ anything!" despite her determination, the hot tears pour down her cheeks, chocking her words and scrambling her sight. Suddenly, all her vigor fades, and she's left crying and shaking, utterly shattered.

"What am I supposed to do now?" she utters quietly, glancing back at the house, thinking of the bills, thinking of the college tuition, all of which she couldn't pay for. All of which _he_ had paid for. She'd lost it all again. Lost her entire life again.

There's a stillness, broken only by the sounds of officers discussing behind them and of Kaito's sharp intake of breath. Suddenly he raises a hand, puts it out to her. She stares at it in disbelief.

"I'll take care of you." He says in a gentle tone.

A wave rushes over her, leaving a ringing in her ears. It was so caring of a statement, but hadn't she had heard this before?

_ 'Just stay with me, huh?'_

Wasn't it the same thing? Wasn't that exactly what he had said all those years ago? She looks at the man in front of her. Soft and tousled hair, eyes as blue and deep as the sea and pleadingly true. A hand extended to her, the same hand that had reached out to her, guided her, carried her, when she was in trouble. This man was…

"Why would you?" Her words are soft, confused, sad in reflection of the difficult ideas in her head. He straightens, his mouth slightly open, a confusion in his eyes similar to her own.

"Because…I care about you." He breathes, taking a step forward. She doesn't retreat. "I don't want anything to hurt you anymore." His expression is curiously nervous and he steps closer still. "I'll…protect you." The last words are barely more than a whisper. "Promise." His hand is still extended towards her, now no more than a foot away. He's waiting, asking, for permission. The girl understands.

It was not the same thing. These men are _nothing_ alike.

Very gradually, she reaches out and touches the hand, her eyes lowered just slightly the whole time. His fingers gently wrap around her own. With a soft breath she steps forward, just close enough, and uncertainly, little by little, lowers her head onto his chest. She feels his arms wrap around her, not a cage, but a blanket; a warm tender layer of protection.

His head leans down and rests on her shoulder, and with a start she realizes that he is crying. The sobs are silent, no movement through his being, but tears still stain paths down his face. Soon the water runs out of her eyes too, and they stand there in the cold winter air, clutching each other and crying tears of sadness, confusion, and relief.

_This man is…_


	11. Chapter 11: Epilogue

**Epilogue**

Kaito turned the key in the lock and pushed the door open, revealing a stark and modern apartment within. The majority is just one long room with a kitchen to the left and dining area to the right as one walks in. At the far wall there was a step down to a small sitting area filled with a sofa bed and bookcases. Near the door there is a small room jutting out into the larger space; an economical bathroom. The walls are white and the floors are a polished golden wood. A large window spans the far wall in the sitting/sleeping area and two skylights let in sun from the pitched roof above. It's the topmost – and cheapest – loft in the entire complex.

"Here it is," Kaito says, and holds the door wide open. Miku stands in the hallway, clutching a duffle bag and laptop case. She didn't have many belongings; everything of importance fits in those two bags. She gazes around the room, taking it all in, and hesitantly steps inside. She looks at Kaito expressionlessly.

"It Meiko's old place," he explains "she used to live here before her folks passed and left their house to her. She had paid off the mortgage, so" he shrugged and smiled. "We kept it in the family. Thought it might come in handy." The girl looks down thoughtfully and slowly steps further into the room, setting her things delicately on the floor.

"Are…" She begins in a small voice "Are you sure it's okay for me to stay here?"

"Of course." Kaito assures her. "Meiko gave the key to me because she's pretty much certain that she'll never need this place. Therefore, it's basically mine to use how I want." Miku nods but twirls the ends of her ponytail nervously. Kaito smiles encouragingly at her again and begins to lead her around the small loft, showing her the bathroom, the kitchenette, the sofa bed. She watches in silence.

"I don't actually think that's there's any food here right now." He admits blushingly after the tour and strides over to the kitchen cupboard. Inside there are a few packages of Swiss Miss and a jar of peanut butter. He closes it rather decidedly and purses his lips. "We'll go shopping soon." He thinks for a moment. "Make that tomorrow."

Miku smiles a little but most of her attention is focused on the large window overlooking the city. Across the street there is an old gothic style building and trees line the sidewalk. Pedestrians walk their dogs and chat around a small market down the streets as the sun sets. It's actually a nice part of town.

Kaito pads up next to her. "What are you looking at?" He asks quietly. Her head slowly turns and look upwards towards the ceiling; the skylights.

"Windows" is all she says, and Kaito understands.

Seeing the girl in front of him, staring into the sunlight like it is the most beautiful thing she has ever seen, fragile and shattered, he wonders when it happened. When did that affection, attraction, what you want to call it, between her and Piko turn into what it did? That union, the two of them together, there was supposed to be love there. There was supposed to be _security _there.

He gets a sudden shock of sadness, a need to comfort this broken girl. An embrace? A word? He would try anything, but those eyes that stare up at the light, bewildered by it, they so easily turn into mirrors of fear. How could he be sure that anything he tried wouldn't frighten her?

"Kaito?" Her words snap him out of his thoughts.

"What is it?" She looks at him and he sees the familiar twisting in her eyes that means she has to say something. "Whatever it is, tell me." he encourages her "I won't be bothered." She lids her gaze.

"…I don't know. I…" the blue spheres open halfway, reflecting the orange light that seeps into the room. "I think I'm tired."

Reaching out a hand, he gently touches her shoulder and leads her to the couch, crouching down next to her. "You should get some rest." He murmurs soothingly and stands. Her gaze follows, a strange almost confused expression on her face that he can't identify. A conflict grows inside him. He doesn't exactly want to leave her, but staying here doesn't feel right either. She might need to be alone at a time like this.

She settles the matter for him by nodding, posture slack. "I'll…see you around." She whispers.

"Yeah," he speaks softly, reaching out ever so slightly and touching one of her cold hands. "Goodnight." With a final check on all of the locks and appliances, he exits the apartment and strides out into the gathering twilight.

* * *

The snap of a door sends a jolt through her body. She looks to the entrance. That's right, he left. She breathes out a sigh, but finds that there isn't much breath inside her to release. Trying to calm the odd distress that suddenly picked up inside her, she looks out the window again. Windows. Light.

Light?

The light is going away. Falling beneath the horizon. Disappearing behind a door. Slowly, steadily, it went away. As if it had never been there.

She claws at the window, desperately trying to rip away the black that separates her from the light, from her sun. But there's nothing. Just the reflection of herself staring back frantically.

It's dark.

So, so dark.

* * *

**A.N.:**_The End!_ What did you think? *Hides behind a desk* I'm kidding! I'm kidding! *Dramatic voice* _This is only the begining!_ Keep your eyes peeled for the sequel, **To Live in** **Forever,**for the conclusion of this story. I'll have the first chapter out soon (meaning, in like two days).

After that's finished, I am also planning on writing the fanfics of all the other people in this story (RinxLen, LukaxGakupo, etc.)! I'll get them all done eventually...


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